Lindsay Turner

Lindsay Turner is the Executive Director of the Druid City Garden Project, a Tuscaloosa-based non-profit organization that seeks to “create a network of school gardens that will build healthier communities, engage students in learning, and increase access to healthy, sustainably-grown food.” The gardens they build integrate lessons in math and science while introducing children to the experience of gardening and to the origin of their food. “My dream is the same as DCGP’s vision for our Gardens 2 Schools program - that, one day, there will be a teaching garden in every elementary school in the state.”In the past, Ms. Turner worked for Navdanya, a non-governmental organization based in India that seeks to promote, among other things, the conservation of biodiversity, the proliferation of organic farming practices, and the rights of marginalized rural farmers. “I love to cook and eat good food,” said Ms. Turner when asked how she got involved in this organization, “and so I became interested in food systems. When I began learning how our industrial agriculture system works, I became passionate about supporting locally based, sustainable food systems."Lindsay Turner and the rest of the Druid City Garden Project staff recognize, through their focus on children, the importance of investing in the future. By introducing elementary school students to gardening practices and to a wider variety of vegetables than they would have had otherwise, they have seen a 52% increase in the likelihood of children to eat vegetables in the cafeteria, a 23% drop in fast food consumption, and a 31% drop in soda consumption. The problems of diabetes and obesity often find their roots in childhood, and it is through programs like those offered by DCGP that the epidemic of preventable disease might eventually be slowed or stopped. “It’s always a great day,” said Ms. Turner, “when we hear from a parent that a child has begged to eat radishes at home.”DiET would like to thank Ms. Turner and the rest of the DCGP staff for their continued work to bring gardens into schools and to instill lifelong healthy habits in the children they work with. DiET pinned Ms. Turner as part of the International Diabetes Federation’s “Pin a Personality” campaign, and as a way to thank her and shine a light on all that she does. Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures from her pinning as well as other information at www.alabamadiet.org under the WDD 2015 tab, and be sure to take a look DCGP’s website at http://www.druidcitygardenproject.org/